Method and means for initiating the decomposition of propellant in a rocket motor



April 4, 1961 R. D. GECKLER rs1-Al.J 2,977,755

METHOD AND MEANS FOR INITIATING THE- DECOMPOSITION PROPELLANT IN A ROC MOTOR Filed Oct, 20, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I FI' l ll" ||l"' rl 25 23 'I" 2| 12 22 FigJa 22 N VEN TOR R/GHA/w GEC/(LER FRAN/UN fz HEP/ym A Trag/v5 )is Apnl 4, 1961 R. D. GECKLER ErAL 2,977,755

METHOD AND MEANS FOR TNITIATTNG THE DEOOMPOSITTON OE PROPELLANT IN A ROOKET MOTOR Filed Oct. 20, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 qui mii Inl IMM imma;

RICHARD D. BYFRA/V/(LIN l?. HEP/VER ATTORNEYS METHOD yAND MEANSFOR INITIATING THE DE- I%ISITION OF PRPELLANTIN A RGCKET aint Richard D. Geckler and Franklin R. Hepner, Pasadena, I

6 claims.. (cl. so- 355) 'Iphis invention relates to rocket motors and more particularly to means for igniting uid propellant injected into the rocket motor.

l, The principal objectofthe invention is to provide' a Apositive, dependable and' safe device for initiating the in the 'caseof propellants Vwhich are self-combustible.

A typical example of a self-combustible liquid propellant useful 4inrocket motors is nitromethane whichl Vcontains the oxygen required to decompose it. Nitromethane, howy ever, does not spontaneously decompose atv ordinary temperatures, and requires an elevated temperature to initiate the decomposition. After the decomposition has satisfactorily started, the high temperature in the chambe is suicient to maintain the decomposition.

Heretofore, diifculty has been experienced in initiating the decomposition of the nitromethane, especially when it is introduced into a cold motor. It is desired that the decomposition shall be positively initiated just as soon asv the nitromethanel enters the combustion chamber, otherwise'a considerable quantity of the nitromethane may be injected into the chamber before ignition occurs.

In suchy cases,an accumulation ofthe liquid nitromethane will occur inthe chamber, so that if ignition iinally does occur itmay produce* a dangerously. large initial pressure or explosion.' v

proved device for initiating the decomposition of. nitromethane and which insures. the immediate initiation of the decomposition just as soon as the nitromethane enters the reaction chamber. n This is accomplished in accordance with our invention by attaching a small charge of Y 'a solid self-combustible material within the reaction chamber which is adapted to be ignitedyancl when it is ignited, it generates suiiicient heat and pressure within the chamber to insure the spontaneous decomposition of the nitromethane injected into'the injector lafter the charge has started to burn. Y l

For'the solid propellant charge, we use'a substance which is tenaciously adherent to a support and WilliholdY its shape, and will not readily crack or split while burning. These features are desirable to preventY the charge from blowing off the support and into the nozzle, which would jam it and cause excessive pressures. The charge to Vbe selected is furthermore a relatively slow-burning self-combustible substance which will burn at atmospheric pressure and yet will burn slowly when the pressure is greatly increased.

We have found that an especially desirable composition responding to these properties and qualities is'amrnonium perchlorate uniformly distributed in a matrix of synthetic alkyd resin.V

A feature of the invention is the formation of a shape for the charge suchthat the gas generated will decrease at a desired rate after combustion is initiated. According to a related feature, this decrease of burning or gas generation .rate of' the ignited substance is. correlatedwith the yincrease in gas generation due to the nitromethane Iafter the latter enters the chamber and has'its decompositionrinitiat'ed.V In thisway, a fairly uniforrngas pressure within the chamberrnay be maintained during the interim of time required to start themotor by use of the charge and up to a uniform operationinvolving the decompo- 2--2 of Fig. 1;

I A number of expedients have theretofore been proposed f for linitiating the decomposition of the-nitromethane injected into agrocket motor chamber." One such expedient; has been the use of catalysts, which aid in initiating the decomposition; but the usent-catalysts is not always as Fig.`3is a partial viewV in cross-section showing the central portion of a reaction motor and charge according to our invention which ismodied somewhat from the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 by the position of an ignitor; l i Y v Fig. 4 shows a system connected witha rocket motor f according 4to our invention by which the Aflow of propelpositive inthe igniting action as is desirable; furthermore,

they/usually require some form of ignition means in addition tothe catalyst'itselff. v

' Another expedient whichhas sometimes been used has been :'t'o) introducevoxygen into-'the chamber with the.

quires some 'sort of storage 'equipment'forjv'the oxygen,y involvingsorne, bull; whichvrnay be nndesirableinfsorne applicationsijand furtherrnorfe,4 the temperatures produced t durinsdswlplstiia Whew-susan is. used are'some.- times'higher thanis' ilesirable,v Ifhigh temperatures continuea'too. 4,1011s, injury-to the motor andi injectors may.

"pIuaccordanceiNvith" our invention, fweprovideLaniim--.

ofy gas generation plotted -against`time.f

lant fluids through the motor is controlled from the pressure within the motor chamber; and j Y j .Figi 5 is a graphicall representation showingy the rate Referring to Figs. -1 and-,2, ,there is 'shown a rocket motor designed to be operated by a liquid propellant i`n.

jected into the chamber, andespecially for operation by nitromethane. The motor comprises a combustionchamvher 11, ordinarily' of metal and preferably cylindrical in j shape. One end'of the'vreaction chamberfllfis provided with a closure cap lzwhicrhv is held in place by an annular Vring 14 having its lower surface shaped to` conform ,with the top outline of cap'12.` Ring 14 islvsecured to an annu- A lar shoulder 15 located .at-the upper end of the-reaction 'Ichamberf-Ilby a pluralityfof bolts 13,v Y f The opposite end` ofthe reaction chainb'er'fll is Apro-` j viddwith.y afnozzle"member-'16v hield, securely" in lplace Y One embodiment of closure member 12 has a centrally located cylindrical depression 21 extending a substantial distance down from the upper surface in the direction of the longitudinal axis. The upper portion of cylindrical depression 21 is enlarged for a sufficient depth to permit the insertion of a fitting 25 which is then per manently secured to closure member 12 by welding, brazing,l or other suitable means. A plurality of channels 22 radiate outwardly fromV cylindrical depression 21, these channels being shown for convenience `as U-shaped grooves; however, some other suitable configurations would serve. The outer ends of channels 22 terminate in an annular groove 23 which is symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis of member 12; and a series of injector orifices 24 open into the reaction chamber11 from annular groove 23. kThe axes of the orifices 24 are positioned at an angle with the longitudinal axis yof closure member 12 so that the streams from the injectors will intersect at a predetermined point within the reaction chamber. The closure member described above is used as an example and any other suitable closure member injector arrangement may be substituted for the above if desired.

The face of closure member 12 opposite to the one to which tting 25 is attached is provided with a threaded hole 26 preferably centrally positioned which receives a stud 27. The Studis preferably made of some metal or alloy having a high heat resistance such as molybdenum to avoidA having it melt at the high temperatures generally existing in the reaction chamber when the motor is in `operation. Y

A slow-burning,` self-combustible charge 28 is cast around stud 27. The preferred composition for thisA self combustible charge is a mixture of ammonium perchlorate in a styrene-modified thermosetting alkyd resin. It contains sufiicient oxygen to maintain itself in a state of combustion after it is ignited, without the addition of oxygen from an outside source. Such compositions have been heretofore disclosed and claimed in application Serial No. 647,189 by Roberts, filed February l2, 1946. This composition for the self-combustible charge is given as an example only, and it will be understood that some other slow-burning, self-combustible, easily ignited mixture, having the desired physical properties, may be substituted in its place.

The burning of this self-combustible charge is initiated by squib 29 preferably made of large black powder grains contained in a self-combustible envelope or container 30. This loaded container is attached to the side of charge 28 by means of strips 31 of adhesive tape or similar material as shown in Fig. 1. An electrical ignition means such as a hot wire is embedded in the black powder grains and is connected in series between the ends of wires 32 which enter thereaction chamber through nozzles 19.

A pressure tap 33 is located at a suitable position `of the wall of the reaction chamber 11 and is provided with a suitable coupling means -for a purpose to be described hereinafter. Y j t l The illustration in Fig. l shows a single selfcombus. tiblecharge 28 within the reaction chamber. In motors which are considerably'larger in size it has been found expedient to employ a plurality of these charges 28 which are located at different positions in the reaction chamber to insure uniform heating of all portions of the chamben, Ar.' Y A The moton described in Fig. 1 is suitable for.use in a standard rocket installation, howeven'if ift'is desiredto employ this type of motor ias a gas generator, such as for example, to develop power-fordrivinga gas turbine'` it is preferable to employ a different ignitor assembly to initiate the combustion of self-combustible charge 2S. The metal wires which conduct the current used in setting off the powder charge in Fig. l would soon be melted by the heat and metal particles would be thrown against the turbine blades resulting in possible injury thereto.

Fig. 3 shows, by way of example, an assembly suitable for use in a gas generator. This comprises an ignitor boss 46 secured to the wall of reaction chamber 11 by welding or other suitable means and provided with threads into which may he inserted a conventional black powder ignitor 34 of the type described in application Serial No. 607,688, by Fred S. Miller'et al., led July plug 40 and the frangible disc is lled with an ignitable substance such as black powder through which` there is extended a suitable hot-wire type ignition wire, the ends of which are brought out through electrical leads 41 which connect with a suitable ignition battery or the like.4

The inner portion of plug 40 forms a sleevey 42 within which there is inserted a tubular cartridge 43 of'an ignitable material such as cellulose nitrate; and this cartridge is lled with pellets or particles 44 of an infiammable material, which for example, may consist of broken-up pieces of a same sort of composition as the propellant mass 28, or may be phenolformaldehyde-perchlorate mixtures or blasting powder in grains. When the ignitor is 'ignited by closing the electric circuit at the leads 41, the black powder is ignited and readily burns through the frangible disc containing it and igniting the pellets or particles 44 in the cartridge. The cartridge material likewise ignites and the burning pellets are spread over the surface of the ignitable mass 28, thereby pro- Aviding effective ignition for it. This type of ignitor charge burns completely forming no solid particles which could cause injury to the turbine wheel.

To insure maximum safety the flow of propellant into the reaction chamber should not begin until the chamber has been heated sufficiently and the pressure therein has been raised to such a degree that the decomposition of the propellant will readily occur. For this purpose an arrangement similar to that in Fig. 4 may be employed.

In this illustration the flow of the propellant, such as nitromethane (from a. storage tank, not shown), is controlled by a shutoff valve 35 which prevents the ow of nitromethane in the conduits until the pressure within Y the reaction chamber 11 is sufficiently high to cause the shutoff valve 35 to open.

The pressure in the reaction chamber is communicated to valve 35 through a line 36 attached to pressure tap 33. There is a correlation between temperature and pressure in the reaction chamber; and temperature and pressure both rise together. The valve is set so that it will open it at a pressure corresponding to a high enough temperature to insure ignition of the propellant.

In operation the squib 29 is set ol by closing the electrical circuit. This ignites the black powder charge which initiates the combustion of the self-combustible charge 28. When charge 28 is burned the pressure within the reaction chamber 11 is raised su'iciently to cause the shut-ott valve 35 to open and at the same time the tem-` perature within the reaction chamber is raised to adegree high enough` to Vinsure the decomposition of the propellantas it flows into the reaction chamber from annulus -23 through orificesr24`.V

fNitromethane does not spontaneously ignite or decompose at ordinary temperatures, but itwill vaporize when itsV temperature is raised, and it decomposes'spontaneously when; the temperature is raised as high as about 500 F. To insure positveignition` or decomposition of the nitromethane, the temperature of the chamber Yshould be'raised to about l000F, 'aisthis will insure that Vshall correspondingly fall.

s when the Vstreams of'nitromethane are injected'into the chamber throughthe injector oriticesit willimmediately decompose without any accumulation of the nitromethane liquid. When the nitromethane isr introduced 'intoffthe chamber anvdfvburns or decomposes, it creates gas generation in additionv to lthat -created byA thel decompositionl of the solidcharge 28.-- Care should accordingly kbe c, that the rat'e of liberation of-gases due to the charge andil tofthe nitromethane do not' become -excessive, Yotlierwise the gases will build up faster than theycan escape through the exhaust nozzle, and the pressure may become dangerously high.

When the nitromethane ignites, the amount of gas liberation rises fairly uniformly to a constant value. When the nitromethane gas liberation rate is thus rising, it is desirable that the gas liberation rate due to the charge 28 The desired relationship is illustrated in Fig. 5, which shows graphically the condition which is desired. In Fig. 5, the abscissas represent time from the moment of ignition of charge 28 and the ordinants represent rate of gas generation. Curve a represents the gas generation due to the nitromethane.

It is seen that at a time t1 when the nitromethane begins to ow, its gas generation rate is relatively low y and increases fairly uniformly tov a time t2 after which it becomes fairly uniform. In order that the over-all'pressure in the chamber shall not have any very sharp peak, -t is desired that the rate of gas generation due to the charge 28 shall vary according to curve b. Prom curve b, it will be seen that the rate of gas generation due to the charge should be highest when it is first ignited at zeroy time, and decrease rather regularly until it iinally ceases burning after time t2 when the nitromethane is burning uniformly. Curve c, then, shows the over-all variation of gas generation in the chamber duringthis starting period, and it shows that at time t1 after the nitromethane is injected, following the ignition of charge 28, the pressure rises somewhatand may be allowed to increase slightly toonly a slight peak at time t3 after which it gradually approaches the steady value of the nitromethane.

n order to provide the rate of burning according to curve b, it is desired tha-t the gas generation rate of charge 28 shall not increase with time, but instead shall decrease. This indicates a propellant with a burning surface which decreases with time. The cylindrical form shown in Figs. l and 3 is particularly advantageous for this purpose. The reason for this is that burning occurs over the entire surface of the charge, including the outer cylindrical surface and the two circular end surfaces. As the burning progresses, the charge maintains its cylindrical form, but the surface area decreases at the rate to produce an over-all decrease of gas generation according to curve b.

In view of the characteristic of the charge of burning Y on its surface over a substantial period of time, the charge 28 is herein referred to as a-slowburning charge. This term distinguishes from the rel-atively fast burning of the -initial black powder charge Z9.

It will be recognized that by our invention, we have provided a simple, inexpensive method of starting self-v combustible liquid propellantssuch as nitromethane in Sg fOr. Starting a ritrmethane propelled ing a reaction: chamber and an` vexhaust Y Areactiont'ihamber, said cli-,argek being of the typein'whicli'bur'ning occurs"y onjitsexposed surface, and being charct'rizedby' afb'u'rning'l surface l which decreases H" m W f ignitor means `for initiating the burning of theburiing surface ofl said self-combustible charge, -a pressure operated shut-olf valve for regulating the iow of nitromethane into the reaction chamber, a pressure tap leading from said reaction chamber and a conduit connecting said pressure tap to said shutoff valve. I c

2. The method of initiating the decomposition of nitromethane injected into the reaction chamber of a jetl motor, the decomposition of the nitromethane being characterized by an increasing rate of gas production up to a uniform rate'of gas production during the period fairly uniform.

particular, and which will insure the decomposition of y p the nitromethane during its starting period.Y This will in- A tsure against the dangerous accumulation of the.vk liquid propellant in the chamber, and willfavoid-subjectingthe I apparatus or the operator'to the hazards of an .explosion.

The starting ber `after the admission of the nitromethane, thereby avoiding the possibility of the collection of foreign matter or metallic particles inside the chamber, which might arrangement is especially applicable in` i that the starting charge is'quickly cleared from thev cham- 70" said rod protruding axially into the chamber from the closurevmeans, said charge being adherent to said rod and of a texture which will not crack or split while burning, and means in association with said charge for igniting it, said charge being characterized in that it is slow burning and that burning occurs on an exposed surface over a period of time, and that during the time of the burning, the burning surface decreases in area. c

4. In combination with a jet motor having a reaction chamber, an exhaust nozzle, and means for injecting liquid nitromethane into .the chamber; a cylindricalshaped self-combustible charge fastened within the chamber, and a supporting rod fixed to the chamber for sup-y porting the charge, said rod being located along the longitudinal axis of the chamber and nozzle, said charge being adherent to its support and of a texture which kwill ber and an exhaust nozzle, comprising a self-combustible v i charge in said chamber vwith meansifor initiating the burning of said self-combustible charge, said charge beingl characterized in rthat burning occurs lslowly on its eX- posed surface over a vperiod of time and that the burn- -ingy surfacedec'reases in area during the period of burning, a conduit extending from the chamber, a pressure operable flow control valve connected with theconduit,

whereby pressure in the chamber opens saidilow control l y valve to allow fluid to ow through it, and `conduit...

means through said flow control valve from 'the 'source of the nitromethane to the chamber, whereby the opening of said flow control valve 'due to the pressure causes the nitromethane to', flow into the chamberv where itis ignited due to the high temperature and pressurerwithin the chamber.,

l6.'."l`he` method of .initiating'the decomposition of a vself-combustible tiuid propellant'injected into the reaction chamber of a jet motor, the propellant beiugcharayY ing a solid,I slow-burning, self-combustible ,977,755 7 8 terized by an increasing rate of gas production up to a References Cited in the file of this patent uniform rate of gas production during/the 'period it, is Y being ignited, said method comprising burning a self- UNITED STATES PATENTS! combustible charge `within the chamber with a decreas-` 455,278 Cunningham June 301891` ing rate of gas production during said period, such` that 5 1,879,186 A Goddard Sept.,27, 1932 said increasing rate of gas production of the propellant '1,897,092 Weir Feb. 14, `1933` is compensated by said decreasing rate of gas production 2,433,943' 'Zwicky et al. Jan. 6,` 1948 of the charge, whereby the gas production in vthe, cham- 2,434,652 A Hickman Mar. 11, 1944 ber during said period is fairly uniform. Y, ,2,470,564 Lawrence et al. May 17,1949` 

